Mac and Music News

The new sound design company Digital Media Dreams BVBA (DmD) announces the release of their first sample CD "SoundXperience". SoundXperience is a multi-sample library containing high quality synth sounds patched up for Reason's NN-XT and Native Instruments Kontakt 1.5.2. DmD is a new company which has the goal to produce and release sample collections on CD-ROM and in the form of downloadable "SoundPack's". DmD was founded by the founders and administrators of the Reason orientated website "Reasonfreaks".

Content of SoundXperience: 125 Multi-samples (1243 Wav. files), 344 NN-XT Patches, 252 Kontakt 1.5.2 Patches. The various category's of sounds included in SoundXperience: Arp, Bass, Drums, Keys, Leads, Mono, Organs, Pads & Strings, Sound Scapes

In total there are almost 600 patches ...

Steinberg announced version 3 of Halion - the well known soft sampler - that will soon be available. Based on version 2.0 engine, this new version 3 will use Steinberg RAMsave technology that will allow an easier management of bigger size samples. Moreover the effect section will be enhanced with a choice of 27 effects that you'll be able to apply to every sample, program or bank. New features also include a file management tool and support of Kontakt and Kurweil samples. Halion should be available soon for 399 euros.

VirSyn (designer of Tera and Cube ) has just announced at the release of a new vocal synthesis software : CANTOR, an eight parts vocal soft (G4/400 minimum with OS X). You'll have to insert your text in english and cantor will sing it following your midi keyboard. The soft will allow you to edit the voice and the phonemes. Cantor will be available in may 2004 (Mac OS X, Stand Alone, ReWire, VST, AU et RTAS.)

At Frankfort Musik Messe, Native Instruments presents NI KOMPLETE 2 ,his comprehensive software solution for the musicians and producers who want to have it all. This package includes the full versions for mac OS X : ABSYNTH 2, REAKTOR 4, B4 Organ, FM7, PRO-53, KONTAKT 1.5, KOMPAKT, INTAKT, BATTERY, VOKATOR und NI-SPEKTRAL DELAY. NI KOMPLETE 2 will be available in June 2004 for a suggested retail price of $ 1149 / 999 €.

At the 2004 Musik Messe, IK Multimedia and Sonic Reality have announced their next collaborative effort, StudioPhonik, the first Studio Instrument Module. This virtual instrument plug-in is dedicated to reproducing the diverses sounds and instruments of full bands in high-end recording studios. With a wide selection of custom, vintage and top of the line drums, percussion, guitars, bass, keyboards and horns, the user can produce an realistic and professional sounding virtual band in their sequencer, all from one plug-in.

StudioPhonik is expected to be released within this summer and will be available as a plug-in for every sequencer platform including RTAS, VST, MAS and Audio Unit on MacOS. The MSRP will be $/Euro 399.

Paperweight Software inc. is the reincarnation of AFSoft, the former Andrew Logan 's shareware company. Audiophile2.0 Public Beta is the next version for OS X of the popular Audiophile Dj application from Paperweight Software, with new features : Easy to Use 2-channel interface, Auto-fading, 2 Band Equalizer and more. Audiophile is downloadable as a beta version and is an open-source application.

The audio editing software Melodyne by Celemony combines Celemony's musical algorithm technology (Local Sound Synthesis) with enhanced editing flexibility. A new update takes Melodyne to version 2.1 and adds a large collection of new features and minor bugfixes : Support for Mac OS 10.3 (Panther), running on a G5 now, and effect plugins are organized hierarchically. Melodyne 2.1 is a free update.

Ed: To celebrate the last official day of the Pepsi/iTunes promo, a special M&Z. (Don't worry, though, US readers -- there are still Pepsi with iTunes caps you can redeem through the end of April.) -PK

Among other things like a G2X (a G2 with the expansion board added in the factory, 5 octave velocity and aftertouch sensitive keyboard, 3 assignable modulation wheels with position LEDs, goose neck XLR microphone included), Clavia announced at the Musikmesse that the editor should be released under OSX in May. THAT is good news :) and free as usual. It's due "To meet the needs of a large part of the music production community", mhmm I love that.

Prosoniq announces the latest version of their OrangeVocoder flagship VST Plugin to version 3.0. This new version will be revealed to the public at this year's Musik Messe in Frankfurt, Germany. This new version will add new features including advanced MIDI control for the built-in synth, support for loading sound files, virtually unlimited polyphony, mono-mode with glide for classic R'n'B talkbox imitations, freely assignable filter bands, and a realtime 24band analyzer control...and more.

Orange Vocoder 3.0 will be released in May 2004 for 249 Euros/USD. An upgrade for owners of the previous version 2 will be available for 99 Euros/USD.

The site is dedicated to the millions of musicians who don't have a forum or an audience and are looking to create one. The site already contains forums, music sharing, classifieds, and up to date news and information regarding products, services, and events in the music and mac industries. Upcoming events include several contests with both product prizes and cash prizes (in excess of $1000) These contest will be mostly geared towards the participation in the site as well as original compositions using Garageband and Soundtrack (and possibly others). The site is well funded, operates of a big pipe, and can handle tens of thousands of users. A dedicated team of editors and programmers will continually update the site with the latest features. An iTunes RADIO station is also planned to help support our users and get them air time for the hard work spent on their creations.

After months of doubt, it would seem that Creamware is set on continuing its support for the Mac platform. It's financial standing has been rectified by the contribution of new capital. The development under OS X however, demands resources in terms of competence, hence the call to those ready to code under OS X and Linux. Let us hope that it will be heard and will allow this innovative software to carry on.

For those interested, once on the Creamware site, go to "forums", "general", "creamware and linux", the links will lead you onto other useful forums....

Charismac Engineering Inc. announced Mac OS 10.3 (Panther) support across their product line. Charismac has updated and qualified their RAID software, disk utilities, SAN Management and CD/DVD mastering and duplication software applications to run with the latest version of Apple's operating system. Qualified products include: Anubis RAID, a powerful software-based striping and mirroring utility. Anubis RAID allows users to format, partition and benchmark both single hard disk drives as well as multi-disk arrays. Discribe, a universal CD/DVD mastering application. Discribe allows you to create your own data, audio and video CDs and DVDs with virtually any CD or DVD recorder on the market, past or present. FibreShare, an intuitive, reliable storage area networking (SAN) software package that easily allows multiple users to have instant access to shared fibre channel storage in a multi-user SAN environment.

Beta Monkey Music has announced the latest addition to its already versatile drum loop library. Groove Construction Kits: Acoustic Drum and Cymbal Samples features five sampled recording drum kits, with nearly 900 (595 MB) individual drum and cymbal hits, painstakingly recorded to capture all the beauty, character, and nuance only acoustic drums possess. Beta Monkey's Groove Construction Kits is a comprehensive collection of acoustic drum and cymbal samples created with some of the most-known and sought-after drum sets and cymbal lines. The recorded drum sets include drums from DW , Pearl , Tama , and Yamaha with cymbals from Sabian and Zildjan . The sample CD-ROM is well-suited and designed for groove construction across a wide variety of genres and styles including rock, pop, R&B, drum & ...

Digidesign announces Command|8 - a fully featured control surface solution from Digidesign and Focusrite that puts integrated, tactile manipulation of Pro Tools TDM and LE sessions at users' fingertips. Command|8 has been designed to provide a depth of control consistent with its control surface predecessors at a budget-conscious price point.

Command|8's faders, rotary encoders, displays, and dedicated transport controls enable users to build their Pro Tools mixes with the hands-on feel only an integrated control surface can provide. A simple USB connection facilitates communication between Command|8 and a Mac, while its built-in MIDI ports (1-IN/2-OUT) comprise a robust MIDI Interface. Stand-alone MIDI controller mode makes it possible to easily map Command|8's controls to third-party ...

DISCOVERY adds a new format "BATTERY" to the long-awaited new library "OKINAWAN TRADITION" going on-sale in the middle of April. That enables you to create your original sounds more freely with the high quality sounds. The usual ACID, WAV and REX2 formats are composed of Okinawa sounds including Sanba (percussion), Sanshin (stringed instrument), Fue (flute), Taiko (percussion) and Voices. In addition, Okinawa percussion - Sanba and Taiko - is included in the BATTERY format.

Kagimedia.com releases a new educational DVD. Kagi Media, producer of multimedia DVDs has just made it easier to learn. By releasing a new DVD for users of any platform at a blow out price, now anyone can jumpstart their production skills.

The new DVD is titled "Pro Recording and Mic Technique" and is an up close look at the most common studio recording practices. You'll see clear images of Mic Placement and come away with a better understanding of Gain Stages, Level Matching and Direct Recording. Styles include R&B, Rock, Retro and Classical.

For users of any sequencer or recorder, digital or tape, it doesn't matter, this DVD will provide you the engineering knowledge you need to take your recordings to the next level.